Automotive vehicle axle



Oct. 15, 1940. 'B. H. URSCHEL AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE AXLE Filed April 4,1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 III $4 d me! O 5. 1940- B. H. URSCHEL AUTOMOTIVEVEHICLE AXLE Filed April 4, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 has v Hiiiiiiiiiiiim,as Z// lmlilliiiiiiiim Oct. 15, 194 B. H. URSCHEL AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLEAXLE Filed April '4, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IWIII/IIIIZWMI/I/II/IIZ 771aSkim/M Patented Oct. 15, I I r a I UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE] g f2,218,127 7 f f I Aurorvro'rivn VEHIGLE AXLE Bertis H. Urscliel, BowlingGreen, Ohio, assignor tojflhe Urschel Engineering Company, BowlingGreen, Ohio, a corporation of 'Ohio v Application April 4, 1938, SerialNo. 199,897

v V Y I '9 Claims. (Cl. 301-424) My invention relatesto-axles'forautomotive be produced at alow labor and material costvehicles; The invention has for the object to and constructedto'produc'ea resistance to'deforproduce light-weight,-sheet metal axles havingmation thereof thatwis much in excess of other parts that are shaped,located, and interconknown forms of axles proportional to; :their nectedin such a manner as-to withstand exweight... f ;j

ceedingly great torque stressesand load strains,' Fig. 1 of the drawingssubstantially. illustrates to which such axles are subjected to, when inuse. a side view of each of the axles shown in the Theinvention also hasfor its object to provide remaining figures of the drawings. Figs. 2, 3,in axles, hollow sheet metal torque resisting parts 7 and 4 illustrateone form of the axle. Fig. 2

It) and strut parts, the strut parts extending crossisa top'view of thesaid form of the axle. Fig. 3

wise the interior ofthe axle to efficiently coact is a longitudi s o oan end p Of t e with the torque resisting parts to resist shearing axleshown in Fig. 2 in a plane, such as indicated stresses and, bendingtrain at line 3-3 in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse sec- The inventionalso provides a longitudinally ti'onal view of the axle in a plane, suchas indiextending sheet metal part located within the Ga ed at 3 Fig-5illustrates a lo axle in the plane of the lines of direction in whicht'udinal, Vertical substantially central section of the normal loadpresses against, the axle, the axle Shown in Fig. 2. Fig.6 illustrates2.

The inventi nval provides in holl w axl transverse sectional view ofamodified form of load sustaining parts that are so formed and e vaxle ten o a p anesimilar to that ofthe connected to enable slight -deflectionthat is elasaxle shown in Fig. 4. Thetop and'longitudinal ticallyresistedup to a certain point and theresectional viewsof the axle shownin' Fig. 6 are after positively resistedto prevent permanent e those f em Views n Figsand 5, deformation. The invention, thus. provides pe vely.Figs. 7, d 9 l s ate a further means for producing yieldability tosudden loads modified f rm'of h le m yi my inv ntion.

or shocks, the axles coacting resiliently with the Fig. '7 is a vi w f asection f h xl n apl ne 25 springs of vehicles to absorb ordinaryshocks, and 0f t e axle, Such as indicated ylihe line 3-3 in yet preventpermanent set or deformation of the Fig. 1. Fig 8 Vi w Of t e section ofan end axl that might otherwise be caused by excespart of the axle takenon the plane of the line sively hi h.ax1e-deforming forces. 8'8indicated in Fig. '7, except .for the bushing The axles are, preferably,formed of sheet steel shown in Fi 9 is a ew O the section that can beheat treated and tempered and the of the axle taken on the plane of theline 99 welded parts normalized. The sheet metal blanks indicated in TheD w Ofthe. le are cut and die-pressed to shape in forming the is likethat of the axle shown in Fig. 2, and the axles. The parts of the axlesmay be welded tovertical, longitudinal, substantially central sec- 235gether along contacting portions, or the blanks tional view is the sameas that shown in Fig. 5. may be die-pressed to form integrally connectedFigs. 10 and 11 show a fourth form of the axle parts. r embodying myinvention. Fig. 10 illustrates a The invention is particularlyadvantageously view of the .section of the axle taken on the used whenembodied in axles that are supported plane, such as that indicated bythe line 3-4 .140 on stub axles of the guiding Wheels of autoinFig. 1.Figlll is a view of a section taken 40 motive vehicles, which directvthe movement of on the plane of the line ll 'll of the axle indithevehicles and wherein the axles are subjected. cated in Fig. 10. The top.view of the axle is to large torsional strains, as well as strains duesimilar to that of the axle shown in Fig. 2.; Figs. to varying load. 12and 13 show-a fifth form of the axle. 1 Fig. 12 4' Structures containingthe invention may parillustrates a view of a section of an end part oftake of different forms and may be varied in the axle on a plane,;suchas indicated by the line their details and still embody the invention.To 3-3 in Fig. 1. Fig. 13 is a view offa section illustrate a practicalapplication of the invention, of the axle taken on the plane of the lineIl -l2 I have selected modif ed-forms of axles as exindicated in Fig.11. A top view of the axle is. amples of the various structures thatcontain the similar to that of the axle shown'in Fig. 2. Figure 50invention and shall describe the selected struc- 4 ill ra an n d View Ofthe 'axle shown tures hereinafter. The particular structures'sein Figure13 to show spacing of resilient parts lected are shown in theaccompanying drawings. which, however, is materially exaggerated asap-The axles selected as examples'of embodiments pears herein below. of theinvention are so formed that they may The side views ofeach of themodified forms 55 hicles by means of the springs 4, which are connectedto the chassis or frame of the vehicle. The springs are seated onsaddles 5, and the springs and the saddles 5 are secured to the axle bymeans of the clamping members I and the U-bolts 8 in a manner well knownin the art.

The ends of the axle, as is common, are shaped to receive the stub axlesand to permit the required free pivotal movements of the stub axles. TheI ends of axles are formed rectangular and provided with tongues forreceiving the stub axle bearing members. The tongues are bent around thebearings and welded to each other and to the bearings.

Each of the axles are shaped to lower the central portion 2 of the axlewith respect to the stub axle bearings, and, consequently, they arebent, as indicated at I and II, while maintaining the bearings locatedin end portions I2 of the axle, in the desired axially relativelyinclined position to produce the desired balanced traction that aids inguiding the vehicle.

In the form of axle illustratedin Figs. 2, 3, and 4, sheet metal is cutand shaped to form a tubular outer wall I4 of the axle. The wall I4 isshaped to form the bends, such as the bends I0 and II indicated inFig.1. The ends I2 of the wall are reduced in their cross-sectional areaand formed rectangular. The ends are also provided with end slots andtongues located contiguous to the slots. The tongues and slots areformed to tightly fit the bushings I. When the bushings are inserted inthe slots, the tonguesare bent about the surface of the bushing toembrace the bushings in the manner heretofore done in connection withtubular axles.

Apart I5 is also cut or otherwise shaped to conform substantially to thebent shape of the outer wall I4 and so as to extend within the wall andto the surfaces of the bushings I located in opposite ends of the axle.The sheet metal that forms the wall part of the axle is so shaped as tolocate its edges in close proximity to each other. The part I5 has awidth, such that the upper edge may be disposed intermediate the edgesof the wall part and its lower edge spaced a short distance from theinner side surface of the wall, such as from one-sixteenth tothree-sixteenths of an inch. Preferably, the part I5 is so formed andsecured as to space the central portion located between the bends IDfrom the lower side of the wall I4 and to dispose its lower end edgeportions extending between the bends I0 and II in inclined relation tothe lower part of the inner surface of the wall and to locate the lowerend edge portions, between the bends I I and the bushings I, in contactwith the lower side of the axle, as shown in Fig. 5. This forms ayielding structure that causes progressive engagement of the part I5with the lower side of the wall I4 from the bushings inward to thesprings, to progressively increase the resistance to the moment of theforces exerted by the wheels and the springs by progressive contactalong the edgeof the part I5 with the wall I4 asthe' moment increasesandproduces a rigid structure at the stub axle bearing members fortransmission of the load to the stub axles. The part I5 forms a strutpart that limits the yieldability of axle and prevents permanentdeformation of the axle by excess loads.

The upper edge of the part I5 is preferably disposed to produce a smallchannel located intermediate the edges of the wall I4 and the strut partI5. The contiguous edge portions of the part I5 and the wall I4 are thenwelded together along the upper side of the axle, as at H, where thestrains exerted in sustaining the load are This locates the weld Whenthe largely compressional. where it is least subject to fracture.

. bushings I are inserted in the slots formed in the rectangular endportions of the axle, the tongues I8 are bent around the bushings I, andthe ends of the tongues are welded together and to the bushings, as atI9.

When the axle has been secured to the vehicle, in the manner describedabove, the part I5 is disposed in the plane of the maximum pressurelines producedby the load on the vehicle. When the pressureincreases,'as for example, when the vehicle wheel strikes a bump or isdropped into a hole in the roadway, the axle will elastically give withan increasing yielding resistance as the lengths of the lower edge ofthe strut part I5 that engage the bottom side of the wall I4 increases.

The form of axle illustrated in Fig. 6 is very similar to the form ofthe axle shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. The sectional and top views of theaxle shown in Fig. 6 are identical to the sectional and top views of theaxle shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5. The axle, shown in Fig. 6, is formedby cutting a blank to form a wall part, such as the wall 20, and aflange part, such as the part 2| formed integral with the wall part.Also, suitable slots and tongues may be formed in the rectangular shapedends of the wall part for securing the bushings I in the slots in themanner described in connection with the axle illustrated in Figs. 2, 3,and 4.

The blank is die-pressed to bend the part 2| substantially 90 and tocylindrically shape the Wall 20 and diametrically dispose the flangepart 2I with respect to the wall 20. The parts are then secured in theirrelation by welding the contiguous edge portions of the wall 20 and theinwardly extending flange part 2| along the upper side of the axle as bythe weld indicated at 22. The axle may then be heated and duringheat-treatment may be bent to the form shown in Fig. 1.

The inwardly extending flange part 2| has a length to extend from onebushing to the other and preferably has a width, such that in the finalformation of the axle, the lower edge will be disposed in slightlyspaced relation from the bottom side of the wall 20 to locate the loweredge of the flange 2| about one-eighth of an inch from the lower side ofthe wall 20, particularly throughout the length of the portion of theaxle located intermediate thebends III indicated in Fig. 1. The loweredge of the part 2I preferably slopes toward the bottom'side of the wallfrom the bends III to the bends II and contacts with the bottom side ofthe wall intermediate the bends II and the bushings, as in the axleshown in Fig. 5'. The strut 2I produces a rigid structure at the endparts of the axle to transmit the changing load, to which the axle issubjected, to thestub axle and to the wheels. In'the form of axleillustrated in Figs. '7, 8, and 9, .thesheet metal blank is cut to forma wall part, such as the wall 24, and two flange parts,

such as the parts 25, that are formed integral with the wall part; Also,the blank-iscut to'form suitable slots 26 in the-endsof the wall partfor receiving the flanged bushings andthe side edges of, and theendsofthe flang'e partsare shaped to form portions having widths forsubsequent folding the ends of'the flange parts to the side wallstofor'm tongues of double thickness from the sheet metal for securingthe bushings. a

The blank isdie-pressed to and to shape the wall 24fsubstantiallycylindrical and diametrically dispose the flange parts with respect tothe wall 2 3 and in contact with each other.- The partsare then securedin fixed relation bywelding the contiguous edge portions of the wall 24andthe inwardly extending parts 25 along the upper side of' the axle, asat 39;

The end portions 27of the wall, located on opposite sides of the slots28, are shaped rectangular and the end portions 29 01' the flange parts25 are flared cylindrically to the end portions 27 of the wall 24' andparts of the end portions 28 are folded to the surfaces of the portions2'! and their lower edges are disposed in contact with edge portions ofthe slots 25 and form, thereby, tongues having thickness double that ofthe sheet metal from which the parts are cut, as illustrated in Fig. 8.

When the bushing I has been inserted in the rectangular end portions ofthe axle as thus formed, the tongues are bent about the bushing andwelded thereto, as indicated at 3|, The axle may then be shaped, when"heated, to form the bends Iii and H, such as indicated in Fig. 1 and maythen be heat-treated to normalize all parts of the axle.

In the formation of the inwardly extending parts 24, the blank ispreferably cut to have a width such that, when the axle isflnallyformed, the lower edges of the parts 25 will be slightly spaced from thebottom side of the wall 24, such as about one-eighth of an inch,particularly throughout the length of the central portion of the axlelocated intermediate the bends indicated in Fig. 1. The lower edgesofthe parts 25, preferably, slope toward the bottom side of the wallpart 24, beginning at the bends II, and contact with the bottom side ofthe wall from the bends to the bushings. The ends of the wall 2 3 andthe ends of the parts 25 completely surround the flanged bushings I andproduce a rigid structure at the ends of the axle through which thechanging pressures due to variation of the load on the axle, .as thevehicle starts and stops, or varies in its rate of movement.

In the form of axle illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11, the axle is formedby cutting a sheet metal blank to form a wall part and flange parts. Theends of the portions are also cut to form slots in the ends of thecentral end portions of the wall part for receiving the bushings I whenthe axle is finally formed. The blank is then die-- pressed to shape thewall part rectangular'in cross section and to locate the flange partswithin the wall part and in contact with each other so as todivide theinterior of the surrounding wall 34 into substantially like chambers anddispose the lower edges of the flange par-ts in contact with the lowerside of the axle. The rectangularly formed wall 34 comprises the bottomwall part 36, that is engaged by the flanges 35, the side wall parts 31,and the parts 38 with which the flanges 35 are integrally connected. Theparts 38 form the top wall 40.

bend theparts 25 -The end portions of the axle are dimensionally reducedwhile maintainingthe end portions rectangular in form and the endportions 4| of the flanges 35 are flared cylindrically to the endportions 42' of the side Walls 31 of theaxle and the end parts of theportions 5| and 42 are folded together and disposed about the slotsformed in the ends of the bottom wall 36 in a manner similar'tothatemplo'yed in producing the construction shown in Fig. 8. The bushingis then inserted within the slot and the tongues, having the doublethickness formed by the portions 4| and 42,'are bentcylindricall'y'about the bushing. The. axle isywelded along thecontiguous, integrally connecting edge portions of the flanges 35' andthe wall parts 38, that is on the upper si'derzof the axle, as at 43,and also at the ends. of thetongues formed by the end portions 4| and 42and to the bushing as indicated at 44. 'In vtheforrn-of axle illustratedin Figs. 12 and 13, the sheet metal blank is cutito form a wall part,such as the wall 50, and two flange parts, such as the parts 5|, that.are formed integral with the wall part.. Also, the blank is cut to formsuitable slots in the'ends of the wall part for receiving the flangedbushings in the formation of the axle, and the side edges and the endsof the flange parts are shaped to form portions having widths forsubsequent folding to form tongues of double thickness .frorn'the sheetmetal for embracing the bushings when .theparts have been shaped to formcorresponding parts of the axle.

, The blank is then die-pressed to -bend the side parts 5| of the blankto form them into the portions 52 and 54 and also to bend the parts 5|along the lines of their juncture with the wall 50 to diametricallydispose the portions '52, when the wall part is bent cylindrically anddispose the lines of the bends 53 between the portions 52 and 54,substantially at the longitudinally axially extending line of theenclosing wall 5th This disposes the portions 52 and 54 substantiallyradially with respect to the wall part 5|). Preferably, the parts 5| areso bent as to contact and connect with the wall 5!! substantially atpoints arcuately spaced apart. The parts 5| thus form bracing strutsbetween different parts of the wall of the axle. If desired, the kneesof the strut parts 5|, formed by the bends along the lines 53, may be.slightly spaced as about a sixteenth of an inch, as shown in Figure 14,somewhat exaggerated in proportion to the diameter of the automobileaxle shown in the drawings. The spacing of the knees permits a limitedresilient deformation of the wall50 in response to changes of pressureoccurring as the vehicle moves over the road, but which are broughttogether when extreme pressures are applied. This prevents bending ofthe axle sufficiently to produce a permanent set.

The ends of the portions 54, by die-pressing, are curvedly broughttogether, as at 55, and the end portions 51 of the axle are formedrectangular. The end portions 58 of the parts 8| are flaredquadri-cylindrical to contact the sides of about the bushing l. Theparts of the axle are secured together, as by welding, along the linesindicated at and BI and bent to conform to the axle shape shown in Fig.1.

The wall 50 of the axle is thus interiorly greatly reinforced by thethree-point bracing produced by the parts 5| that will withstandexcessive loads. The use of the axle shown in Figs. 11 and 12 is ofparticular advantage by reason .of the changing direction that thepressure lines of the load undergo during the change of the rate ofmovement of the vehicle, such as in sudden stopping of the vehicle or asudden forward movement. The direction of the pressure thus appliedduring the movement of the vehicle is largely in a vertical direction,which is advantageously supported by the shape of the parts 5| and,moreover, when the rate of movement is changed, either to increase ordecrease the speed of the vehicle or to produce a sudden stopping of thevehicle, the three-point engagement of the strut parts 5| with the wall50 will locate the parts 5| in the plane of lines of pressure of thenormal load and. the parts 54 will be advantageously located withrespect to the resultant pressures produced by the normal load pressuresand the pressures produced by the change in speed either upon increaseor upon decrease of the speed.

I claim:

1. A tubular axle for automotive vehicles, the axle having a membersecured to one side of the axle wall and spaced a short distance fromthe side opposite to the said one side of the axle wall for limiting thedeflection of the tubular wall of the axle by variation of the pressureproduced by the load on the axle.

2. A tubular axle for automotive vehicles, a partitioning wall extendingacross the interior of the axle, one edge of the partitioning wallsecured to the axle wall and the other edge of the partitioning wallspaced a short distance from the proximate innner surface of the axle.

3. A tubular axle for automotive vehicles, a partitioning wall extendinglongitudinally and across the interior of the axle, one edge of thepartitioning wall secured to the axle wall and the longitudinal centralportion of the other edge of the partitioning wall spaced a shortdistance from the proximate inner surfaces of the axle, and the end edgeportions of the partitioning wall located in contact with the axle wall.

4. A tubular axle for automotive vehicles, a partitioning wall connectedto the Wall of the tubular axle and extending longitudinal and acrossthe axle, one side edge of the partitioning wall having a portion spacedfrom and inclined to the proximate inside surface of the wall of thetubular axle for progressively engaging the wall as the load on the axleincreases.

5. A tubular axle for automotive vehicles, a partitioning wall connectedto the wall of the tubular axle along one side edge of the partitioningwall and extending longitudinally and across the axle, the centrallongitudinal portion of the other side edge of the partitioning wallspaced from the proximate inside surface of the axle wall, and the endedge portions of the partitioning wall inclined to the proximate insidesurfaces of the wall of the tubular axle in a direction towards the endof the axle for progressively engaging the wall as the load on the axleincreases.

6. An axle for automotive vehicles, stub axle bearing members secured inthe ends of the axle, a partitioning wall having a part located in theplane of the axes of the bearing members and extending from one bearingmember to the other and across the interior of the axle, and the bottomedge of the partitioning wall spaced a short distance from one side ofthe axle.

7. A tubular axle for automotive vehicles, the ends of the axle wallformed to have parallel sides and having tongues, a diametricallyextending wall, the ends of the diametrically extending wall havingparts flared within the tongues of the axle wall, and stub axle bearingmembers embraced by the tongues and the ends of the said parts.

8. A tubular axle for automotive vehicles, a partitioning wall locatedwithin the axle and connected to the one side of the wall of the tubularaxle and extending longitudinally and across the axle, one side edge ofthe partitioning wall having end portions spaced from and inclined tothe proximate inside surfaces of the side of the wall opposite the saidone side of the wall of the tubular axle for progressively engaging thesaid opposite wall as the load on the axle increases.

9. An automotive vehicle axle having a sheet metal space-enclosing walland a pair of partitioning wall parts located in contact with each otherand having parts extending transversely and longitudinally with respectto the enclosing wall part, the ends of the axle having parallelopposite side parts and the ends of the partitioning wall parts flaredand folded against the sides and the ends of the enclosing wall andforming with the enclosing wall part tongues of double metal thickness,the upper and lower sides of the ends of the axle having openings andbearing members located in the openings and embraced by the tongues.

BERTIS H. URSCI-IEL.

